Safeguarding Companies' Rights in Competition and Anti-Dumping/Anti-Subsidies Proceedings

Revised
ISBN: 978-90-411-3404-2
Verlag: Wolters Kluwer

Buch, Englisch, Band 12, 612 Seiten

Reihe: International Competition Law Series Set

This is an extraordinarily useful book for anyone practicing in the area of competition law before the European Commission or the European Courts. It focuses on procedure in the four principal fields that entail enforcement of substantive competition rules: antitrust, merger, anti-dumping/anti-subsidies, and state aid. The author proposes modifications in the four procedures that eliminate unnecessary differences among them, save time and money, and offer better protection of the rights of the concerned parties while preserving effective enforcement of the relevant rules.

Each of the first four chapters offers an in-depth analysis of the rights and obligations of the private parties concerned in proceedings in each of the four fields, from their initiation up to termination by the adoption of specific measures as appropriate. Three comparative tables, which consolidate the analysis made in these chapters, introduce the fifth chapter, which provides detailed comparative analysis and proposals for reform.

Among the many practical issues raised are the following:

the obligations of an undertaking during the fact-finding procedure of the Commission in antitrust cases;
the extent to which the right to confidential communication between lawyer and client in antitrust cases is recognized by the European Commission and the European Courts;
the existence of a right to silence to avoid self-incrimination in antitrust cases;
the right to respect for confidentiality and the right to be heard during the preliminary fact-finding procedure of the Commission in antitrust cases;
the right of access to the Commission file in antitrust cases;
the right to a fair hearing in merger and anti-dumping/anti-subsidies cases;
the right of directly involved parties to bring an action before the European Courts in anti-dumping/anti-subsidies and state aid cases;
the rights of the complainants in antitrust cases;
the right to a fair hearing in antitrust cases;
the rights and obligations of beneficiaries in state aid cases;
the applicability of Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights to EU antirust procedures; and
complaints in state aid caseThe book will be very useful in planning the handling of a case, as it describes the procedure and the rights and obligations of all parties from first to last. The author's analysis draws on all the relevant judgments of the European Courts, and the book comes with a wealth of reference material, including detailed footnotes, lists of legislation and cases in both chronological and alphabetical order, and an extensive bibliography. Law firms specializing in European competition law, Commission judges and case-handlers, and lawyers defending enterprises are among the practitioners who will benefit greatly by using this book. As the only book that contains an in-depth analysis of the rights and obligations of the parties in all the four fields and in a comparative perspective, it is also uniquely valuable to jurists and academics.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Giannakopoulos, Themistoklis K.

Fachgebiete

• Rechtswissenschaften Internationales Recht und Europarecht Europarecht Europäisches Handels-, Wirtschafts- und Gesellschaftsrecht, Währungsrecht

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Abbreviations. List of Legislation. List of Case-Law. Introduction. Chapter I: Rights and Obligations of the Parties in Antitrust Cases. 1. Introduction. 2. Initiation of an antitrust procedure: The right to file a complaint. 3. Obligations of the private parties during the fact-finding procedure of the commission. 4. Rights of the private parties during the fact-finding procedure of the commission. 5. The right of the private parties to a fair hearing during the final procedure leading to a decision terminating the alleged infringement of the competition rules. Chapter II: Rights and Obligations of the Parties in Merger Cases. 1. Introduction. 2. The position of the parties to a concentration and of other involved parties. 3. The position of third parties. 4. The right to bring an action before the European Courts against the various commission decisions.Chapter III: Rights and Obligations of the Parties in Anti-dumping/Anti-Subsidies Cases. 1. Introduction. 2. Initiation of an anti-dumping or anti-subsidies procedure: The right to file a complaint. 3. Obligations and rights of the parties after the initiation of proceedings. 4. The right to bring an action before the European Courts against the various commission decisions Chapter IV: Rights and Obligations of the Parties in State Aid Cases 1 Introduction. 2. Notification of state aid plans. 3. Complaints to the commission in state aid procedures.4 Rights of the interested parties during the examination of the notification in the preliminary phase of the procedure. 5. Rights and obligations of the parties during the formal investigation procedure under article 88(2). 6. Obligations of the member states during the procedure in unnotified aid cases - monitoring of approved aid measures. 7. The right to bring an action before the European Courts against the various decisions of the commission in state aid cases. Tables Chapter V: Comparison of the Procedures in the Four Fields - Identification of the Differences - Justification - Proposals for Reform. 1. The nature of the proceedings in the four fields. 2. Due process in European Community Law. 3. Rights and obligations of complainants during the examination of their complaints. 4. Rights and obligations during the fact-finding procedure of the commission. 5. The right to a fair hearing prior to the adoption of the final decision. Conclusions. Bibliography

Über Autor(innen)

Themistoklis K. Giannakopoulos, Dr.
Junior Partner

Specialist Areas:
Electronic Communications Law, Corporate Law, EU and National Competition Law (including State Aid, Dumping/Subsidies), Commercial Contracts, Energy Law.

Education:
LL.B. (1994) University of Athens Law School
Erasmus Exchange Programme (1992), University of Leiden
LL.M. (1996) University of Kent at Canterbury, U.K.
Ph.D. (2000) European University Institute Florence

Career:
During his career Dr. Giannakopoulos has served as legal advisor for telecommunications companies, directing the departments handling the regulatory and commercial legal matters, and being in charge of the application of national and EU competition rules (i.e. drafting complaints and submissions, etc.).

As an internal legal advisor at the National Telecommunications and Posts Commission (EETT-The Greek Telecoms Regulator), Dr. Giannakopoulos was involved in litigation proceedings regarding the enforcement of competition rules with respect to the activities of telecommunications companies (hearings and investigations regarding compliance with sector specific regulation, anticompetitive restrictions and abuses of dominant position, merger notifications, etc.), and drafted the relevant final decisions to be adopted by EETT. He also advised on, and participated actively in, the procedures regarding the implementation of the EU Regulatory Framework and the harmonization of the national law with the EU Law.

As a stagiaire at DG IV-Competition of the European Commission (1998), he had the opportunity to participate actively (i.e. providing legal opinions, drafting legal documents, being involved in oral proceedings and informal meetings, etc.) in the handling of antitrust and state aid complaints, M&A notifications, etc. He also contributed to a then ongoing major cartel investigation, which later resulted in the imposition of one of the heaviest fines in the field.

Dr. Giannakopoulos has advised various companies, whose business activities are in the fields of energy, information technology, food and recreation activities, education, etc., on issues regarding the enforcement of EU and Greek competition law.

Since March 2002, he is a Teaching Fellow on EU Competition Law and EU Institutional Law, at the Democritus University of Thrace in Komotini, both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Dr. Themistoklis K. Giannakopoulos is a member of the Athens Bar Association and is qualified to appear before the Supreme Courts of Greece. He joined Avramopoulos & Partners in November 2005, and is the author of various articles on competition matters, as well as of the following books published by Kluwer Law international:

Safeguarding Companies' Rights in Competition and Anti-dumping/Anti-subsidies Proceedings (2004), and
A Concise Guide to EU Anti-dumping/Anti-subsidies Procedures (2006).